Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Injecting the turkey is cheating. And awesome.

One year I injected it with grand marnier. Mmmm.

However, that compels me to share this safety-related anecdote (secondhand, not from personal experience): someone was basting with grand marnier, and the alcohol fumes were accumulating in the oven. Suddenly, BAM--the oven door flew open and a fireball erupted. It lasted a moment, then, with the fireball having done its thing, it created a vacuum that sucked the oven door shut again. The storyteller's young son is said to have shouted, "wow, mom--do it again!"

I'm dying laughing

My 4yo son would definitely have that reaction

Anonymous wrote:Injecting the turkey is cheating. And awesome.

One year I injected it with grand marnier. Mmmm.

However, that compels me to share this safety-related anecdote (secondhand, not from personal experience): someone was basting with grand marnier, and the alcohol fumes were accumulating in the oven. Suddenly, BAM--the oven door flew open and a fireball erupted. It lasted a moment, then, with the fireball having done its thing, it created a vacuum that sucked the oven door shut again. The storyteller's young son is said to have shouted, "wow, mom--do it again!"

I'm dying laughing

I use the deconstructed turkey recipe every year - found it on Epicurious. At this stage my family really only eats the breast meat. It's a good recipe and pretty easy.

One year my MIL did a recipe from David Tanis for turkey in two pieces. I think it was this. It turned out fantastic, and MIL is not a particularly good cook:

http://leitesculinaria.com/59625/recipes-roasted-turkey-braised-turkey.html

Breaking the turkey down does two things. It decreases cooking time(more surface area to mass) and it allows you to cook each type of piece by type(ie breast, leg etc each will be done at a different times). Secret to cooking a turkey is to use high heat for the first 20 minutes. This seals the turkey by cooking the skin. After 20 minutes, cover turkey reduced to about 275-300 till done. Dry turkeys are over cooked.

PP is right. You want to google "spatchcocked turkey." Bon Appetit had an article about it in this month's issue.

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/spatchcocked-turkey-with-anise-and-orange

Injecting the turkey is cheating. And awesome.

One year I injected it with grand marnier. Mmmm.

However, that compels me to share this safety-related anecdote (secondhand, not from personal experience): someone was basting with grand marnier, and the alcohol fumes were accumulating in the oven. Suddenly, BAM--the oven door flew open and a fireball erupted. It lasted a moment, then, with the fireball having done its thing, it created a vacuum that sucked the oven door shut again. The storyteller's young son is said to have shouted, "wow, mom--do it again!"

Why not serve ham?

Do you inject your turkey? Mine is never dry.

America's Test Kitchen had a recipe a while back for "deconstructed turkey", basically cut into quarters and laid on top of a pile of stuffing in a roasting dish. That way the stuffing soaks up all of the juices, without the issue of drying out the bird before the stuffing cooks through.

I think they started the thigh quarters before adding the breast quarters. I found it online, but you need to register your email address to access it - didn't want to hassle with that on my phone, so I couldn't get the details. I remember reading the recipe in one of their magazines and thought it looked good, though. I think it was based on a Julia Child recipe, so you could look for that too.

One year we cooked just the breast, covered with a can of soup in the pan. At the end we took the foil off to brown the skin. It was by far the juiciest oven-made turkey I've ever had.

Just use an oven bag and you will have perfectly juicy and tender turkey meat.
http://www.reynoldskitchens.com/products/oven-bags

Look up "spatchcocking" the turkey. To "spatchcock" it means to cut it on either side of the backbone (or alternatively you could do it on either side of the breastbone) so that it collapses down flat on top of itself. Cooking it in pieces would achieve the same thing, which is to make it all cook more quickly and evenly.

My recommendation is to use a big cast iron skillet if you have it, or if you don't, a big rectangular baking pan that's big enough for your pieces. (A roasting pan is probably too big--unless your pieces won't fit into something smaller.)
Wash and peel a bunch of carrots. Separate and wash a bunch of celery stalks. Cut some large onions into thick (3/4" to 1") rings.
Scatter the vegetables in the bottom of the pan. You can criss-cross the carrots and celery, or have them all run the same way. The idea is that these vegetables are going to take the place of a rack, and keep the turkey off the bottom of the pan. Over the course of cooking, they're also going to get soft and yummy with the drippings, and give off aromatics to flavor the meat.
Then, arrange the pieces on top of the vegetables. I'd put the breasts on the bottom, skin-side up, and then arrange the rest of the pieces (the dark meat) around and on top of them. For the wings, cut off the smallest skinnest part (which would probably burn otherwise), and stick the rest of the wing in there somewhere.

In a small bowl, mix some salt, pepper, thin-sliced garlic, and either olive oil or softened butter (or a little of both). Add some chopped fresh herbs--parsley, sage, and thyme. (2 parts sage to 1 part parsley and 1 part thyme.) (Rosemary is only if you're an incurable Simon & Garfunkel fan--I wouldn't.) Mix the herbs into the rest with your fingers to form a paste. With your hands, rub the paste onto the exposed skin sides of the meat.

Then consult a spatchcock recipe for time and temperature. Cook the dressing (stuffing) separately.

Why didn't you just order a turkey and cut it? Or look at a revipe?

So after many years of having dry turkey, I've decided to try something different this year. A lot of people suggest cooking the turkey split into pieces. So I've ordered 2 breasts, and a couple of legs & thighs. Does anyone have experience cooking the turkey this way? Can you share what temp you cook at, for how long, and do I need to use a rack for cooking the separate pieces? Thanks!